Where the marigolds come from for Dia de los Muertos

Local farmers south of Tijuana used to grow tomatoes, cucumbers, pumpkins, and peppers, but starting eight years ago they have devoted one-quarter of their land to marigolds. This flower is considered as the flower of the death, also known as cempasuchil (flower of 400 petals in Aztec language). These southern farmers were the local supplier of flower shops for Dia de los Muertos celebration, but last year everything changed. The closure of all graveyards in the city due to the Covid-19 pandemic affected the selling of the flower; the farmers had to invent a way to avoid disaster.

Oscar, the farmer in charge of the Cempasuchil Tijuana, came up with an idea. Before 2020 Cempasuchil’s fields – near Las Delicias Blvd. at Km 22 on the road to Rosarito – were not open to the public, so they decided to start a Facebook page to promote visits to their crops for 50 pesos per person. “It was kind of an accident caused by the pandemic, the florist did not assure us that they would buy the flowers. We have between 40-50 thousand flowers. It was a success, we never expected and were not prepared for that.” He said.

Most of the people that visit the fields are families, and most of them appeared to be surprised to find this kind of activity within the city since Dia de los Muertos is a tradition more grounded in southern Mexico. Because of the influence of the U.S. and Halloween, initiatives like this encourage Mexican/indigenous heritage that neglected in border cities like Tijuana.

“It’s so nice to see people that never actually paid attention to our tradition, especially in this part of the country, coming and enjoying our roots. So nice to recognize us as Mexicans through this tradition. In the end, we want to provide more activities like this.

"This year we have folkloric dances regarding Dia de los Muertos, altars, and a couple of activities more within the ranch, and of course, we offered the flowers so people can put them on their own altar at home.”

Tadeo Sanchez is one such visitor. He went with his wife and eight-year-old child and explained how hard it is to find family activities that relate to this tradition in town. He did not know about the existence of this place until her wife found it. “She likes a lot the culture of Dia de Muertos, its colors, and the whole history behind it.

"I think Dia de los Muertos is a more calm tradition than Halloween, that’s why we think is important to teach that to our children. Is a great opportunity for us like parents to tell kids about our heritage, I’m 30, and till now I haven't had the chance to see a Cempasuchil camp, and my kid did it at eight years old; I’m glad about that.” He noted.

The fields will remain until November 1 when the flowers need to be cut for the celebration the next day, but before that the ranch is giving a huge event where traditions of Halloween and Dia de los Muertos will be combined. “At the end both celebration are not against each other, and we can make a hybrid celebration.”